1. Technical Field
This invention relates to an improved mouthpiece for brass-wind instruments.
2. Background Art
The family of brass-wind instruments includes trumpets, trombones, baritones, tubas, French horns, and other similar instruments. Most brass instruments are characterized, among other things, by having a cupped metal mouthpiece. A brass-wind musical instrument mouthpiece is typically composed of metal and comprises a cup, a bore, and a backbore. The cup of a typical mouthpiece comprises a rounded inner surface, against which a brass musician presses his or her lips when playing the instrument. As the musician blows air into the cup of the mouthpiece while applying pressure, the musician's lips vibrate, causing the air in the instrument to vibrate and create sound. The airflow passes from the cup through the bore and backbore and into the instrument itself.
Different types of brass instrument typically use mouthpieces of different sizes and shapes. Musicians can also use various sizes and shapes of mouthpieces for each instrument. For example, a trumpet player can use different mouthpieces on his or her trumpet, each having different bore diameters, cup shapes, etc.
The size and shape of the mouthpiece components greatly affect the tonal quality that the instrument produces. The size and shape also affect the difficulty level of playing the instrument.
One difficulty associated with playing brass instruments is playing high notes. To do so, the musician must have a strong embouchure (lip muscles and positioning). Even then, playing high notes for a long period fatigues the musician's lips, thus decreasing his or her ability to continue playing the instrument.
Accordingly, what is needed is an invention that allows brass instrument musicians to be able to play high notes more easily, thus allowing less skilled musicians to play higher notes than they otherwise would be able to, and also allowing all brass instrument musicians to be able to play for longer periods with less fatigue.